Church Year – Page 6 – What Does This Mean?

The Great Cloud of Witnesses

Encore Posts: Once every four years, the world pauses to watch the Olympics. Among the most exciting of the sports contested are the foot races, where the fastest men and women to ever walk the earth run nearly as fast as each other, the winner crossing the finish line a few thousandths of a second ahead of the others. The crowds That pack the stands cheer them on. The loudest are coaches urging them on.

The Book of Hebrews uses is image to describe the assembly of the church triumpant — all of God’s holy ones — his saints — who have died and now live in God’s presence forever. They form a “great cloud of witnesses” cheering us on. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Also our coach, Jesus, stands at the finish line. We focus on him as we run our race because he endured the cross before us and for us. When we worship, we enter eternity and join them, the “whole company of heaven”, in praising God.

All Saints’ Day is an ancient celebration — begun in the Eighth Century (700s AD) It was intended celebrate all the Saints that did not have a special day assigned for them. Lutherans have kept this day a sort of Christian Memorial Day. We remember the Christians in our lives who have died and now rest with Christ, especially those who entered eternal life in the last year. It is a joyful day, more so than the day of their funeral, where grief is more intense. Most parishes read their names during worship. Some use other ways to remember — distributing flowers, lighting votive candles or other practices special to them.

Yet our celebration is not about the saints — even our loved ones. It is about Jesus, their Savior, who by his death has destroyed death and by his resurrection opened the kingdom to all believers. He is the author and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of God. It is because he is risen that they — and we — will rise on the last day. So, we dry the tears in our eyes, for he is risen! He is risen indeed! Allelujah!

Translation is Tradition — Treason?

Encore Post: 1600 years ago, a respected, old monk lived in a cave in Bethlehem said to be the birthplace of Jesus. We know him as Saint Jerome, the father of translation, one of the greatest scholars of church history, standing only in the shadow of his contemporary, St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. We give thanks for him and all translators on September 30. In medieval times, the church assigned him to the role of patron saint of libraries. His symbol in Christian art is the lion, after the legend that he pulled a thorn out of the paw of a lion cub, who followed him the rest of his life. A large version of the classical painting of him in his study hangs opposite my desk in the Walther Building of the Wayne and Barbara Kroemer Library Complex.

Jerome is said to have written the latin pun: translatio traditio est. It means both: “Translation is Tradition” and “Translation is Treason.” It captures perfectly the two forces that pull at faithful translators. You can either perfectly rewrite the meaning of the text in the new language or reproduce each word with the one or two words in the new language that are closest to the original. If you do the first, the result is more a commentary — what the scholar believes from his or her theological viewpoint. If you do the second, people reading the translation have a very hard time understanding what it means.

Most translations lean towards one or the other, but try to do both. If they succeed — like St. Jerome’s Vulgate, Luther’s German Bible and the King James Version — generations will come to love the language of these version and at the same time hear God’s Word. It passes down the faith to the next generation. When they do not, it distorts God’s word at best and betrays it at worst. So, translation is both tradition and treason. For those of us who speak English, we are blessed with dozens of translations. Taken together, they open to us the treasures of Holy Scripture. For this reason, we thank God for Jerome — and all translators!

A Little Sunday Morning Reading….

Encore Post: As you take a vacation trip and visit new churches along the way, you may notice that the Scripture passages read seem a lot like the ones being read at your church at home. You are probably right. Most Lutheran churches and other Christian traditions use a Lectionary — a list of readings agreed upon by a group of Christian Church bodies.

This is nothing new — the first lectionaries were used by synagogues before Jesus was born. The church continued that tradition, adding readings from the Gospels and a variety of letters and sermons written by the apostles and other early church fathers. Those recognized by the church as God’s Word eventually became a part of the lectionary proper and joined other Scriptures read regularly in worship.

The readings eventually settled down into a standard rotation. These became traditional lessons for the same Sunday in the Church Year. This pattern is used to this day — with some small adjustments — in the historic one year lectionary. Its advantage is that our ancestors heard these passages read — even Martin Luther and those before him.

Beginning in 1974, Protestant churches together developed a three-year lectionary, which reached its final form in 1983. Called the Revised Common Lectionary, it is used by most Christians in the United States. The three-year lectionary in Lutheran Service Book is based on this Lectionary. Its advantage is that more of the Scripture is read in worship and preached upon.

If you want to prepare for worship on Sunday during the week before, why not consult your congregation’s lectionary? The list of readings is available online at: the LCMS’ lectionary page?

A Little Easter and Pentecost Every Sunday

The Day of Pentecost comes on June 9^th, but we have already been working up to it with the last few weeks of the season of Easter. Jesus promises to send the Paraclete, that is the Holy Spirit (John 14:25-31, John 16::1-15).

Pentecost was originally was a harvest festival, the ingathering of the winter wheat. In the Old Testament, it is called the Feast of Weeks. The feast began fifty days after Passover. It was also a day to celebrate again Moses receiving the Law and God’s Covenant made at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 19-24, where there was wind and fire.

In Acts 2, Luke records the first Pentecost after Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension. Just like the events at Mount Sinai, there was a great, mighty rushing wind, God’s Word, and a harvest. Only this time the fire came in flaming tongues over the disciple’s heads. They declare God’s Word and each person in attendance heard the mighty acts of God proclaimed in their own language. Faith was created by hearing. The Holy Spirit made this possible, and also created the faith in each person that they might make this eternal truth their own: that Jesus died on the cross to take away “MY” sins.

Each and every Lord’s Day is not only a “little Easter celebration” but it is also a “little Pentecost” because we hear with our own ears in our own language the story of the wondrous works of God for our salvation. That is, we get to hear again the story of Jesus dying on the cross to take away our sins, and rising on the third day for our justification, that we might take it to heart and believe it. This is done FOR YOU and Your CHILDREN, as St. Peter says (Acts 2:39). It is the Holy Spirit’s job to point us to Jesus death and resurrection, and He calls you to faith in this Gospel by the preaching of it. In other words, the Holy Spirit makes you holy by giving you the forgiveness of sins that Jesus won for you.

This is something that the Christian ought to do, for remembering the Sabbath is commanded by our Lord. Yet it is truly for our own benefit to hear God’s Word for by hearing we are brought to repentance and faith in Christ for our salvation, just like those 3000 that first Pentecost Day.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Jesus Returns to Heaven

Encore Post: The Ascension is an important event in the life of Jesus and the Church. It is the final part of the work which redeemed us: the cross, where our sins were paid for, the resurrection where the power of the grave was broken and the ascension which restored all His honor, glory, authority and power. From the days of the early church, over 1500 years ago, until recent years, the church celebrated the Ascension on the fortieth day after Easter, or the Thursday ten days before Pentecost. In the 21st century, many churches celebrate Ascension on the Sunday before Pentecost.

When He ascended, Jesus left His Church a promise, a mission and a blessing. He promised to be with us always, until the end of time. He gave us our mission. We would join His mission to seek and save the lost by going to the whole world, being witnesses to His life, death and resurrection, to proclaim the good news of salvation, baptizing and teaching all He commanded us. As He ascended, He blessed them as Aaron and the High Priest did and as pastors do to this day, giving us His peace. He promised to be with us always, until the end of time itself.

Now the church waits patiently for him to return. On a day that no one knows, Jesus will return. On that day, he will raise our bodies from the grave, judge all the living and the dead, bring an end to sin, death and the power of the devil. God will live among us again, throw the greatest marriage feast of all time. He will dry the every tear from our eyes.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd

God tells us He is our Shepherd. He tends his flock, leads them to green pastures and still waters, guards them from danger, dresses their wounds, carries their lambs and is always with them. (Isaiah 40:11) This imagery is so powerful that, in ancient times, Kings often compared themselves to shepherds as well.

In the Middle East, shepherds often build a common sheep pen for their town. They would build a wall to keep the sheep from wandering away and to keep wolves and other predators from attacking them. A watchman would guard the gate or door to the pen so that only shepherds could enter. This discouraged thieves. When a shepherd was ready to feed his sheep, he would go into the pen and call them by name. They recognized the voice of the man who cared for them and would follow. He’d take them to good, green pastures and nice, quiet waters. (Psalm 23) He would protect them from wild animals, often doing battle with them, as King David describes what he did as a young shepherd. He would risk his life to save his sheep. (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

Jesus is our Good Shepherd. (John 10:1-18) He calls us by name. He leads us, guides us, corrects us and comforts us with his word. He gives us living water to drink and washes us clean in the waters of Holy Baptism. He feeds us with his own body and blood in his own supper. He appoints assistant shepherds to help feed us, protect us and guide us. He gave his life for us, his sheep. He will be with us always, even to the end of time itself, when he will lead us home, where we will live in his house forever. A Good Shepherd indeed.

The Conversion of St. Paul

Encore Post: On January 25th, the week after the celebration of the Confession of St. Peter, the Lutheran Church gives thanks for the Conversion of St. Paul. This miracle brought to faith one of the most important missionaries, theologians and pastors in church history.

Saul of Tarsus was born to a well-to-do Jewish craftsman. His father made leather and canvas goods such as sails and tents. His father was a Roman citizen, a status inherited by his children. His home city had a good reputation, which served him well. His father was a faithful Pharisee, and provided his son with both a first-rate classical Greek education and the best training for eventually becoming a Rabbi. Like many of his educated countrymen, he had both a Hebrew name–Saul and a Greek name–Paul.

Paul became a disciple of one of the greatest Rabbis in the history of Judaism — Gamaliel. He excelled in these studied and may well have served in the Sanhedrin. He was so zealous for his religion that he became a persecutor of the followers of Jesus and a witness of the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr.

Intent on arresting every Christian in Damascus, Saul set out with a warrant from the Chief Priest. Along the way, Jesus appeared to him in light so bright it knocked him off his mount and blinded him. Jesus identified himself and commissioned Paul to go to the Gentiles. He directed Paul to Ananias who forgave his sins and baptized him. Paul’s sight was restored.

The Holy Spirit would inspire Paul to write 1/4 of the New Testament. He would take the gospel to the ends of the Roman world, including Spain. The Apostle to the Gentiles fulfilled his mission well.

To: St. Timothy | Confession of St. Peter | St. Titus

When was Jesus Born?

Encore Post: In the Western world, the way we number our years is based on the year Jesus was thought to be born. The years before that time are called B.C. — Before Christ. ( Non-Christians, especially scholars call it B.C.E. — Before the Common Era). Years after that date are called A.D. — Anno Domini — the Year of Our Lord, (Non-Christians call it C.E. — the Common Era). The system was devised by monk Dionysius Exiguus In 525 AD to depart from the system developed by pagan emperors and last revised by the great persecutor of Christians — Diocletian. It supplanted a system based on the year of the reign consuls, emperors or kings.

The problem: most historians believe that Herod the Great died in 4 BC. The tyrant was very much alive when Jesus was born. Using other clues from the Evangelist Luke’s dating of events in the life of Jesus, Dr. Paul L. Maier, scholar of ancient history and Lutheran apologist, believes Jesus was born in 5 BC. Not too far off given Dionysius Had no tools of modern historical research.

Jesus’ actual birthday is not known. Jews of first century AD did not celebrate their birthdays. The big celebration was a male’s circumcision eight days after birth. In fact, Christians did not celebrate the birth of Christ until the 4th Century, after Christianity became the official religion of Rome. The date was selected in relation to the Resurrection, which was celebrated from the very start of the faith.

In the ancient world, a perfect human being was thought to die on the day of his conception. So the church reasoned the incarnation happened on the Spring Equinox, the day when daylight and night are the same length — 12 hours. In Ancient times, that was March 25. In the same way, a perfect human being was thought to remain in his mother’s womb exactly nine months. So, they reasoned he would be born on the shortest day of the year — December 25th.

The church made much of the date. The pagans celebrated the day of the unconquerable Sun, worshiping it as a god. From that day on, it seemed to grow ever stronger. So the church celebrated a service — a Mass– of Christ on that day to displace it. From that date grew the seasons of Advent and Christmas in the church calendar.

Palm Sunday in Advent?

This text for Advent 1 for the 3 year lectionary is something we hear on Palm Sunday. It seems to be well sowed into the fabric of Holy Week, so why does it show up at the very beginning of the church year? That is a question that I have been rolling around in my head for the past week. And I think I found the connection, from the Prophet Zechariah whom Matthew quotes. “Behold, your king is coming to you.” This quote is the reason that this is read on the first Sunday in Advent. “Your King is coming to you.” We always think that Advent is preparing us for Christmas, well, because it does, but the season prepares us for something so much more. It prepares us for the other ways that Christ our King, comes to us.

We see in Palm Sunday a Jesus entering Jerusalem to a parade, but only a couple days later the city is no longer cheering but crying out “Crucify!”At the cross we see the title given again to Jesus. The first being when the magi visit. It seems that no one fully understood the title king at his birth nor at his crucifixion, for His Kingdom is not from this world. The throne he sits on is actually a cross, to which he willingly goes to die for the sins of the world.

Christ’s Kingdom has already come to you, believers of his word. He proclaims we are in his Kingdom right now via the Word and Sacraments. He mercifully comes to you in His Divine Service to forgive us our sins on account of his suffering and death. And He promises us everlasting life because he rose from the dead. Having risen and now ascended to the right hand of the Father, we trust his promise that He will come back to take us to Himself.

Christ will come again, no longer riding humbly on a donkey, but in all his divine majesty and glory. He is coming back to judge the living and the dead. And we who believe look forward to that this final coming of Christ the King. Why do I say we look forward? We are awaiting Christ’s final coming in which he will set all the world right, and remove us from sin and from the sufferings of this world. Behold, your king is coming to you in mercy, oh faithful ones, now and always.

Rev. Jacob Hercamp
St. Peter’s Lutheran Church
La Grange, MO

Luke’s Musical

Encore Post: St. Luke wrote his Gospel and the Book of Acts in polished, carefully constructed Greek. The Introductions to both books are in well-balanced, formal language, like the best of ancient classical history. But when he begins the story of Jesus, he writes in the Greek of the Septuagint — the translation of the Old Testament read in the synagogues where Jesus and his disciples grew up. It would be like reading a novel that starts in New York, writing with a Brooklyn accent, and, when the scene changes to Dallas, it speaks with a Texas twang and vocabulary.

As Luke weaves the story, he recalls several canticles — New Testament psalms really — sung by various persons in it. The result is much like a modern musical. The Church picked up on this. We sing them in worship and have done so for more than 1600 years.

Called by the first few words of these songs in Latin, they are:

Mary’s song, the Magnificat. We sing it during Vespers.

Zechariah’s song, the Benedictus, sung in morning services.

The Christmas Angel’s song, the Gloria, sung in the Divine Service — When the Lord’s Supper is served.

And Simeon’s Song, the Nunc Dimmitis, also sung during Divine Service.

These songs of joy, celebrating the births of the Messiah and the prophet who announced him are now our songs, too, not just at Christmas, but the whole year.